A growing number of individuals are turning to "organic" foods as their preferred source of nutrition. Organic foods are not genetically modified and are grown and prepared without the use of chemical pesticides, growth hormones, antibiotics, herbicides or synthetic fertilizers and are processed without the use of solvents such as hexane. Further, organic ingredient processing is like kosher processing in that separate production lines are used for organic and non-organic ingredients or special cleaning procedures are used between non-organic and organic runs.
A number of certification boards and some states, such as California, have procedures and regulations that must be followed for a food ingredient or food product to be labeled as organic. One such board is the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB). The NOSB requires organic growers not to have used chemical pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers on their land for at least three years. NOSB standards currently allow up to 5 percent of the ingredients in nutritional products labeled "organic" to be non-organic, provided those ingredients are not widely available in organic form.
The consuming public is aware that organic foods reduce the health risks associated with consuming foods that are tainted with chemical solvents, pesticides, herbicides, and the like. While adults can carefully choose their source of nutrition, infants, toddlers and children are forced to consume liquid formulas that are not organic. One aspect of the present invention is directed to an infant formula and a nutritional beverage for toddlers and children that is organic. The invention is also directed to a method to prepare such nutritional beverages.
Conventional infant formulas are derived, to a large extent, from cow's milk. After being diluted, the cow's milk is enriched with whey proteins, diverse carbohydrates such as lactose, dextrin, sucrose, maltose and starches, different mixtures of vegetable and animal fats, vitamins and minerals. These components are present in suitable amounts to meet the requirements of low birth weight newborns or term healthy infants as a sole source of nutrition during the first and second semesters of life.
Sometimes, infant formulas also contain isolated milk proteins, isolated vegetable proteins or protein hydrolyzates, from diverse sources such as casein, lactalbumin, soy and meat. Also, these infant formulas have one or more carbohydrates (sucrose, dextrin, maltose and starch), mixtures of diverse kinds of fats, minerals and vitamins, to meet not only the healthy newborns' nutritional requirements, but also of infants and children with clinical symptoms of lactose intolerance, protein intolerance and, in general, with diverse malabsorption-malnutrition syndromes.
The European Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition (ESPGAN), the American Academy of Pediatric (AAP), the Codex Alimentarius Mundi, and the European Community Council, among other organizations, have set forth general guidelines for the composition of infant formulas.
As used herein, the term "infant formula" is intended to refer to the well established understanding as defined in the United States Infant Formula Act, (106 and 107 C.F.R.). The term "organic" is intended to refer to a food that complies with the Federal Organic Foods Production Act (1990) or the California Organic Foods Act of 1990 or those certified by the National Organic Standards Board.
Nutritional products, other than infant formulas, such as those currently used in hospitals, are based on the utilization of diverse protein sources (casein, sodium and calcium caseinate, isolated soy protein, protein hydrolyzates and/or crystalline amino acids), mixtures of vegetable and animal fats, carbohydrates (basically glucose polymers), vitamins and minerals to meet, at least, the dietary intakes recommended for healthy individuals (Committee on Dietary Allowances, Food and Nutrition Board, Nat Acad Sci, 9th Ed, 1980).
Protein energy malnutrition (PEM) is found in many patients admitted to hospitals. This happens not only in developing countries, but also in those with a high socioeconomic level. Proper nutritional support for such patients, while not a primary mode of treatment is, nevertheless, an important factor for therapy and recovery. It is, therefore important to administer a nutritionally balanced organic diet free of contaminates such as pesticides and herbicides, adequate to the needs of the patient. This is especially true for those patients where conventional feeding is contra-indicated (gastroenterological patients) or is insufficient (hypercatabolic patients). Further, these patients are at greater risk for developing complications that are associated with foods contaminated with pesticides, herbicides and chemical solvents.